Washington County, Indiana

For counties with a similar name, see Washington County (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Washington, Indiana.

Washington County, Indiana
File:Salem IN Courthouse.jpg Washington County courthouse in Salem, Indiana
Seal of Washington County, Indiana Seal
Location in the U.S. state of Indiana
Indiana's location in the U.S.
Founded	1814
Named for	George Washington
Seat	Salem
Largest city	Salem
Area
• Total	516.60 sq mi (1,338 km2)
• Land	513.72 sq mi (1,331 km2)
• Water	2.87 sq mi (7 km2), 0.56%
Population
• (2010)	28,262
• Density	54.9/sq mi (21/km²)
Congressional district	9th
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.washingtoncounty.in.gov
Footnotes: Indiana county number 88

Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 28,262. The county seat is Salem.

Washington County is part of the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY–IN Metropolitan Statistical Area. Sami used to live here.

History

Early settlers

As early as 1802, a man named Frederick Royce lived among the Ox Indians at a place known as the Lick, two miles east of Salem and is probably the first white man to inhabit this county. He was a hunter-trader and salt manufacturer. In 1803, Thomas Hopper was the first to settle in this county near Hardinsburg.

Washington County was formed in 1814. It was named for U.S. President George Washington.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 516.60 square miles (1,338.0 km²), of which 513.72 square miles (1,330.5 km²) (or 99.44%) is land and 2.87 square miles (7.4 km²) (or 0.56%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Jackson County (north)
• Scott County (northeast)
• Clark County (southeast)
• Floyd County (south-southeast)
• Harrison County (south)
• Crawford County (southwest)
• Orange County (west)
• Lawrence County (northwest)

Cities and towns

Campbellsburg Fredericksburg Hardinsburg Little York Livonia

New Pekin Pekin Salem Saltillo

Unincorporated towns

Bartle Beck's Mill Blue River Bunker Hill Canton Claysville Daisy Hill Fairview Farrabee Georgetown

Haleysburg Harristown Hitchcock Kossuth Martinsburg McKinley Mt. Carmel New Liberty New Philadelphia Norris (Harristown)

Old Pekin Organ Springs Plattsburg Prowsville Pumpkin Center Rosebud Rush Creek Valley Smedley South Boston

Townships

Brown Franklin Gibson Howard Jackson

Jefferson Madison Monroe Pierce Polk

Posey Vernon Washington

Major highways

Indiana State Road 56 Indiana State Road 60

Indiana State Road 135 Indiana State Road 160

Climate and weather

Salem, Indiana
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     3.3     39 21     3.2     46 25     4.3     56 33     4.6     67 42     4.9     76 51     3.9     84 60     4.4     87 64     4     86 62     3.1     79 55     2.9     68 44     3.9     55 36     3.7     44 26 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     85     4 −6     81     8 −4     109     13 1     117     19 6     123     24 11     100     29 16     112     31 18     101     30 17     78     26 13     73     20 7     99     13 2     94     7 −3 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in Salem have ranged from a low of 21 °F (−6 °C) in January to a high of 87 °F (31 °C) in July, although a record low of −32 °F (−36 °C) was recorded in February 1951 and a record high of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.87 inches (73 mm) in October to 4.86 inches (123 mm) in May.

Five people were reported killed in Washington County during the Early March 2012 tornado outbreak. Four were found dead in a home on Old Pekin Road according to Washington County officials. The fifth, a 15-month-old from the same family, had been found in a field, and died later in hospital.

Government

See also: Government of Indiana

Washington County Sheriff's Department
Agency overview
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction*	County (US) of Washington in the state of Indiana, United States
Legal jurisdiction	As per operations jurisdiction.
General nature	Law enforcement Local civilian police
Operational structure
Agency executive	Claude Combs, Sheriff
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The county government is a constitutional body, and is granted specific powers by the Constitution of Indiana, and by the Indiana Code.

County Council: The county council is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all the spending and revenue collection in the county. Representatives are elected from county districts. The council members serve four-year terms. They are responsible for setting salaries, the annual budget, and special spending. The council also has limited authority to impose local taxes, in the form of an income and property tax that is subject to state level approval, excise taxes, and service taxes.

Board of Commissioners: The executive body of the county is made of a board of commissioners. The commissioners are elected county-wide, in staggered terms, and each serves a four-year term. One of the commissioners, typically the most senior, serves as president. The commissioners are charged with executing the acts legislated by the council, collecting revenue, and managing the day-to-day functions of the county government.

Court: There are two judges in Washington County. The Judge of the Circuit Court is the Hon. Robert L. Bennett (D). The Judge of the Superior Court is the Hon. Frank E. Newkirk, Jr. (R). Case distribution is determined by local court rules. Each judge serves a six-year term.

County Officials: The county has several other elected offices, including sheriff, coroner, auditor, treasurer, recorder, surveyor, and circuit court clerk. Each of these elected officers serves a term of four years and oversees a different part of county government. Members elected to county government positions are required to declare party affiliations and to be residents of the county.

Washington County is part of Indiana's 9th congressional district and is represented in Congress by Republican Todd Young.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1820	9,039		—
1830	13,064		44.5%
1840	15,269		16.9%
1850	17,040		11.6%
1860	17,909		5.1%
1870	18,495		3.3%
1880	18,955		2.5%
1890	18,619		−1.8%
1900	19,409		4.2%
1910	17,445		−10.1%
1920	16,645		−4.6%
1930	16,285		−2.2%
1940	17,008		4.4%
1950	16,520		−2.9%
1960	17,819		7.9%
1970	19,278		8.2%
1980	21,932		13.8%
1990	23,717		8.1%
2000	27,223		14.8%
2010	28,262		3.8%
Est. 2014	27,878		−1.4%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 28,262 people, 10,850 households, and 7,799 families residing in the county. The population density was 55.0 inhabitants per square mile (21.2/km²). There were 12,220 housing units at an average density of 23.8 per square mile (9.2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.1% white, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.3% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 25.2% were German, 14.3% were American, 13.7% were Irish, and 9.6% were English.

Of the 10,850 households, 34.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.1% were non-families, and 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.02. The median age was 39.2 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $47,697 and the median income for a family was $45,500. Males had a median income of $38,100 versus $28,092 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,278. About 12.2% of families and 16.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.7% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The county is served by 3 school districts:

• Salem Community Schools
• East Washington School Corporation
• South Central Area Special Ed
• West Washington School Corporation.

East Washington School Corporation (Superintendent:Steve Darnell) includes:

• East Washington Elementary School
• East Washington Middle School
• Eastern High School

Salem Community Schools (Superintendent:Dr. D. Lynn Reed) includes:

• Salem High School
• Salem Middle School
• Bradie Shrum Elementary School

West Washington School Corporation (Superintendent:Gerald Jackson) includes:

• West Washington Elementary School
• West Washington Junior/Senior High School

See also

• Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area
• Louisville-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg, KY-IN Combined Statistical Area
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Indiana

References

• American Legion Pekin Post 203, The. History of Pekin, Indiana (1959). The American Legion Pekin Post 203
• Everton Publishers, Inc, The. Handy book for Genealogists (1971). Everton Publishers, Inc, The
• History of Washington County 1884 (1884).
• Indiana Historical Commission. Indiana History Bulletin (August 1924). Wm. B. Burford

External links

• Washington County Government website